Adult students: Most of our adult students come from Fu Jian. They have been in the U.S. for over 10 years and most of them are working in Chinese restaurants. All of them are planning to participate in American Citizenship Test. They can read and write in Chinese, but they are not well educated. Most of them have never been to college. Their English level is lower beginner, and they have never systematically and formally learned English. Their age ranges from 30 to 40. There are about 15-20 people in a class. They can speak Fu Zhou dialect and Mandarin, but their Mandarin carries strong Fu Zhou accent.

Children: Our child students are of elementary school age, and they have been in the U.S. for 1 to 2 years. They have never received any formal English instruction back in their hometown, Fu Jian. They were under their grandparents’ care that have had very limited schooling or are even illiterate, so that their language development was delayed. All of them are studying in local public schools, which normally do not have ESL programs, and do not have many ESL students. They speak Chinese (Mandarin) to their parents at home. There are 8-10 students in a class. Their first language proficiency is comparatively lower than their peers in China.